OT: Wow

[medaille]

The bottom line here is that people don’t seem to understand the function of government. It’s not designed to be efficient, it’s designed to protect and serve as a reflection of values of the republic. 

Is government over weight?  I think most would say yes, but in these times of disinformation and political extremism, it seems toxic overreach and trampling the boundaries of the law is en vogue, not reasonable discourse and compromise.

I think maybe what you are saying could have been the intention of what was created centuries ago, but to call the government merely “overweight” is a gross inaccuracy.  “Overweight” is more akin to “Oops, I cared to much and sent to much aid to people that needed it”.  That is not an adequate reflection of reality.  The reality is more like, “Hey, we created skynet and terminators and now they want to kill us” or “Hey, we created manmade versions of diseases that are super-infectious and super-deadly and they accidentally got released from the lab”.

We’ve created an entire shadow government that’s outside the real government that’s outside real government oversight.  Everythings classified, and on a need-to-know basis, and presidents and regulators are not on the need-to-know lists, and can’t regulate these areas.  Stuff is outsourced to private companies that’s outside of regulation.  They tax us into poverty, this money is moved to the shadow government, and is being used to oppress us.  In 2001, immediately before 9/11, the Pentagon stated it had 1 Trillion dollars it couldn’t account for what it was spent on.  What do you think it is at now?  The government will fund or blacklist news agencies, so that all you get is propaganda news.  The FBI had a full division inside of Twitter used to censor their political opponents.  The FBI has been infiltrating local groups, radicalizing them, and then stopping the terrorist acts that they initiated.  We openly start coups in every free-run country until they are under our control.  We have elite being blackmailed by the pedophile rings they are a part of.  Does this include the judges that are being asked to ensure democracy is fair?  Probably.  You have the Democrats creating blatant lawsuits to ensure 3rd party and independent candidates have to fund long expensive legal campaigns while trying to run an election campaign, ensuring that any not-in-the-big-club candidates have an impossible task in taking on the oligarchy.  We have two parties that whenever it comes to giving money to the people, it’s endless amounts of arguing, but when it comes to giving money to the people that fund them, unanimous votes.

This is not a government that cannot be reformed by politicians arguing over spending and holding each other accountable.  If there was a regaining control of our government happening, it would be messy and dirty, and the propaganda media would be telling you how horrible it was.  Is this Patriots draining the swamp?  I think this is a potentially valid assessment.  Is this one mob group trying to overtake another mob group?  I could also be persuaded that this is true.  Is this a coup of evil people trying to take over the government that’s been run by good and honest people?  This is a laughable take and not remotely believable.

[Waterboy]

Thats a broad brush statement. 

You and I both know there are lunatic fringe and moderates to both sides...Problem is when the primary mouthpiece of left or right comes from the fringe. 

As far as the media goes, imo they are the enemy of the people. I dont care what side of the aisle you're on or whether you quote CNN, NBC, Gateway Pundit or Newsmax. They have agendas that transcend reporting an event factually. 

As far as the The VH goes, it's been a toxic and non-welcoming site for years. It's just an echo chamber of some who still choose to pray at the altar of Sid Powell and Jen Ellis - and swirl on it daily.

I agree with some of what you say, but the country and govt followed the lead of the whackos on the left went crazy under Biden and the Lunatics took control of the air waves via the media.   The Dems were trying like crazy to bring in illegals to form a permanent Democrat majority based on the assumptions that illegals could game the system for long enough and that they would vote liberally in perpetuity.  It was obvious.  CNN and NBC bill themselves as MSM news.  Newsmax and Gateway Pundit are who they say they are, and their track record during the last couple of presidencies has been far better than the MSM sites.   This site leans the opposite way of the VH site, probably a little less openly.  I love all the revisionist history and then avoidance of topics now that things have been so thoroughly proven to be corrupt as hell.  Acting like the two sides are at the same point of crazy is more inaccurate than its ever been.  Enough so that the broad brush does a pretty good job of describing most situations.

[purplefaithful]

I agree with some of what you say, but the country and govt followed the lead of the whackos on the left went crazy under Biden and the Lunatics took control of the air waves via the media.   The Dems were trying like crazy to bring in illegals to form a permanent Democrat majority based on the assumptions that illegals could game the system for long enough and that they would vote liberally in perpetuity.  It was obvious.  CNN and NBC bill themselves as MSM news.  Newsmax and Gateway Pundit are who they say they are, and their track record during the last couple of presidencies has been far better than the MSM sites.   This site leans the opposite way of the VH site, probably a little less openly.  I love all the revisionist history and then avoidance of topics now that things have been so thoroughly proven to be corrupt as hell.  Acting like the two sides are at the same point of crazy is more inaccurate than its ever been.  Enough so that the broad brush does a pretty good job of describing most situations.

I dont buy into all of this, but we all got our lenses. 

There is a lot to unpack in much of this thread - but here at least we're having some civil discussion vs discourse, hate and anger. 

The country needs more open dialogue. God gave us 2 ears and one mouth for a reason.

[Bullazin]

I agree with some of what you say, but the country and govt followed the lead of the whackos on the left went crazy under Biden and the Lunatics took control of the air waves via the media.   The Dems were trying like crazy to bring in illegals to form a permanent Democrat majority based on the assumptions that illegals could game the system for long enough and that they would vote liberally in perpetuity.  It was obvious.  CNN and NBC bill themselves as MSM news.  Newsmax and Gateway Pundit are who they say they are, and their track record during the last couple of presidencies has been far better than the MSM sites.   This site leans the opposite way of the VH site, probably a little less openly.  I love all the revisionist history and then avoidance of topics now that things have been so thoroughly proven to be corrupt as hell.  Acting like the two sides are at the same point of crazy is more inaccurate than its ever been.  Enough so that the broad brush does a pretty good job of describing most situations.

This is a football site and a good one if not stampeding with traffic.  Your point in bold above is thoughtless however. We have a forum to argue crazy stuff that won’t change anyone’s minds.  It’s not very popular which is why most mouth foaming extremists went to VH or elsewhere where they could participate in their endless circle jerk echo chamber to further reinforce their massive but fragile ego’s. 

I miss a lot of posters football insights as it was something we could circle jerk together on, but they made their choice as we all do.

[StickierBuns]

This is a football site and a good one if not stampeding with traffic.  Your point in bold above is thoughtless however. We have a forum to argue crazy stuff that won’t change anyone’s minds.  It’s not very popular which is why most mouth foaming extremists went to VH or elsewhere where they could participate in their endless circle jerk echo chamber to further reinforce their massive but fragile ego’s. 

I miss a lot of posters football insights as it was something we could circle jerk together on, but they made their choice as we all do.

They didn't want to talk football, they wanted to talk extreme politics. They placed politics into threads that weren't political. This is a football board. There is no offseason in the NFL anymore. As I mentioned, there wasn't one football related topic on page one on that board....NOT ONE. Who's going to tell me with a straight face that's a Viking's message board? Its nutbag central there and they can have it. I also can have an opinion on it.

Signed,
The Magician

[Zanary]

They didn't want to talk football, they wanted to talk extreme politics. They placed politics into threads that weren't political. This is a football board. There is no offseason in the NFL anymore. As I mentioned, there wasn't one football related topic on page one on that board....NOT ONE. Who's going to tell me with a straight face that's a Viking's message board? Its nutbag central there and they can have it. I also can have an opinion on it.

Signed,
The Magician

I can only agree. I was invited there when it started, I think I posted twice...but I check back and lurk, reading the sheer volumes of echo-chambering and links to obvious "outrage factory" sites with the same fascination as passing a huge car accident on the highway.

It's...wow, almost impossible to exaggerate. However, living just outside Seattle, I can experience the mirror image with many local sites.

[IDVikingfan]

They didn't want to talk football, they wanted to talk extreme politics. They placed politics into threads that weren't political. This is a football board. There is no offseason in the NFL anymore. As I mentioned, there wasn't one football related topic on page one on that board....NOT ONE. Who's going to tell me with a straight face that's a Viking's message board? Its nutbag central there and they can have it. I also can have an opinion on it.

Signed,
The Magician

Hey Sticky, I typed this with a straight face.  Did you notice that VH has a discussion list (non-sports topics) and another that is sports topics?  Limited traffic in the sports section but there are Viking related posts and that should qualify VH as a Viking fan site.  Apparently you only looked on the non-sports related discussion list.

Just curious, do I become a non-Viking fan if I discuss something other than the Vikings?  If so, I'm definitely not a fan by your definition since my time discussing the Vikings is well below 1% of my total awake hours.  IMO, I simply see VH as a group of Viking fans that are practicing their first amendment rights by discussing a variety of topics.  They do not have to match your or my thinking on any topic.  You are free to have an opinion and to call their group "nutbag central".  Just recognize that they may believe the same about your opinions.

[StickierBuns]

Hey Sticky, I typed this with a straight face.  Did you notice that VH has a discussion list (non-sports topics) and another that is sports topics?  Limited traffic in the sports section but there are Viking related posts and that should qualify VH as a Viking fan site.  Apparently you only looked on the non-sports related discussion list.

Just curious, do I become a non-Viking fan if I discuss something other than the Vikings?  If so, I'm definitely not a fan by your definition since my time discussing the Vikings is well below 1% of my total awake hours.  IMO, I simply see VH as a group of Viking fans that are practicing their first amendment rights by discussing a variety of topics.  They do not have to match your or my thinking on any topic.  You are free to have an opinion and to call their group "nutbag central".  Just recognize that they may believe the same about your opinions.

Didn't say anything about your fandom or what is 'required' to be a fan. Or what percentage discussing the Vikings you make part of your 'total awake hours'. You're getting into Strawman territory by introducing those things. We've had this discussion ad nauseam over the years with this board, some left and went to VH and it became whatever the hell that is over there.....call it what you want, but its not a Viking's message board. 'Practicing their first amendment rights', lmao. Yeah, that's certainly one way to put it. 

I have an opinion on the board and posted it here. What's interesting is you have 69 posts in just over 10 years here on the board....and two of those you've decided to use up that 1% of your total awake hours to defend the VH site and call me out. And another guy, who claims to not have posted on either of these sites in years, comes back just to bash me as well about my opinion about the VH site. Why don't you just be honest and say what its REALLY about instead of hiding under the guise of you defending free speech? Please. This board is about football. As it should be. This site is lesser than now because politics have divided society and its trickled down into every single fucking thing that people do now, which is tragic. Your side and my side and nobody cares to hear anything except from 'my side'. Extreme views live and propagate like maggots online. The escape isn't talking about other things besides football on a message board, the escape IS talking football. That's where its importance lies. And keeping that as unadulterated as possible IMO is the key.

[StickierBuns]

To be honest, I’m not getting much “moderate” leftist views coming across my social media. 

Didn't say one thing about the lunatic fringe not going to both sides of the extreme, it most certainly does. Both very distasteful and I find the extreme Left slightly more gag-inducing than the extreme Right. But because I find Trump a nauseating piece of shit, I'm SuperLiberal Man somehow. No more room online for being moderate I suppose. Issue by issue is how to evaluate and form opinions, not by party. Not by religion. Each issue unto itself.

[JimmyinSD]

Its ironic that a post on politics and another sites propensity to discuss politics is the most popular thread on a board that has a no politics policy and has created a special forum for exactly these types of threads so as not to upset those that dont want to see politics on their football board.